We are contemplating a move and would need to sell our house. Anytime I think about trying to sell our house while homeschooling I get overwhelmed. There is no way I could possibly keep it clean enough to show. My husband says we should move out, but I have always heard that it is hard to sell a house without furniture. The upside is, it would stay clean. I was wondering if any of you have done this and if so, any tips?
Yes, but I don't know that I can offer any tips. Our house didn't sell. We ended up having to rent it. The market just isn't good right now. We had it on the market while we were living there, and basically, we just kept everything as neat as possible. We took down most of what was on the walls, leaving only the things we were actually using at the time. All books stayed on the shelf except during the moments we were actively using them. Everything else (supplies, etc.) was kept in drawers or storage boxes so that it was easy to get to them, but they were still out of sight. That lasted about 3 months before we moved out. The house sat on the market another 4-5 months before we decided to rent it out. We had a renter in 2 weeks. The rental market is very active here, but unfortunately, the prices aren't. We're losing about $150/mo on that house because the rent doesn't cover all the mortgage + expenses (rental management company, HOA fees, etc.)
We sold two while homeschooling. We switched over to workbooks which were easier to keep tidy. I also used a cabinet to keep all of our school things out of sight. The cabinet was a mess inside, but from the outside it was great! :lol: Don't be afraid to slow down on the school work during this time, especially once you start packing. It all works itself out in the end.
well Yes, we try to sell ours could of sold it four times if I gave them everything in it. I ask them if I could at least have my underwear.. Anyway we homeschool and it wasn't bad they usually give you a few hours warning before they come and look. Just have the rooms you don't use for school clean before school starts. Not that much more work.. just a headache
We sold our house in CT, 6 yrs. ago, and yes, we were homeschooling. It was very stressful, we had a lot of showing, but thankfully our realtor almost always gave us 24 hrs. notice that she was going to be showing the house. On the one occasion that she showed the house when we were out at church, and not expecting a showing, she learned her lesson. ; ) I think that the most important thing I did, to help me keep sane, was to enlist the kids to "get the house in show condition" every afternoon. Even before we brought realtors in to get estimates, we got the whole house into show condition, so that they could see how we expected the house to look when shown. Each afternoon, we got the house all cleaned up again, thus it didn't ever get so bad that I couldn't have it sparkling for a showing, and the kids knew exactly how I wanted things to be. They each got a piece of candy when they took care of their part. I worry about selling our house here in NJ, the seller's realtors don't even go to showings. It is standard procedure to just put a lock-box on the door, and you may get very little notice of showings. You also don't get feed back from the your realtor, if they weren't there, and don't hear back from the buyer's realtor.
I personally rather looking at empty homes because you can see the space better and visualize your own belongings in there. However the market isn't good and carrying two mortgages would be tough. What about homeschooling at the library till the house sells. Or take more field trips for school.
I'm too frugal to even think about keeping a house empty while trying to sell unless there is no other alternative LOL As a former real estate agent, yes, it's easier to sell a house that is furnished. But it's also easier to sell a clean, empty house than a messy furnished one. Most showings will happen on the weekends. Then a few in the evenings. And even fewer still during 'bankers hours'. When I was young (single, living with parents) we did a good cleaning Friday afternoons for weekend showings we knew were coming up. Then every day, right after school (PS) my mom and I would clean the house to prepare for evening showings. I understand homeschooling makes a much bigger mess than having kids in PS. BUt here are some tips. IF you know for sure you are moving (like you have to move in x weeks/months if the house sells or not) go ahead and get to decluttering! A bag for trash, a bag for donation/gifting and (only if you will actually do it) a bag for yard sale (and anything that does sell goes to donation. Next-pack all your non essentials. You're in GA, so if you HAVE to move before November-you're not going to need winter clothing-go ahead and pack it up. If you have extra dishes-pack them up (when we moved a couple of years ago I packed all but 4 plates, 4 bowls, etc-I don't NEED 16 plates, 16 bowls, etc-it's nice, but not needed ) The less stuff you have-the less there is to pick up and clean. I have 3 9x13 baking dishes-one will suffice-I packed up the other 2. You get the picture. With summer coming up, are you taking summer off from school? Can you pack the schoolwork up and just survive off living books for 2-3 months? OR maybe add a comprehensive workbook? For dishes-if you can't wash them right after using them (or you have young kids)-buy a dishpan to stash under your sink, then you can do dishes 1-2 times a day, but never have dirty dishes out. Make sure the kids are helping clean. Set up a chore chart and make it fun, play music, make it into a game for younger kids, etc. You shouldn't have to clean up after everyone, you're not a maid. My kids have had chores since they could walk! The big, big, big things are 1-Keep the kitchen clean. No dirty dishes. Wipe of counters, etc Always focus on the kitchen first! (Then the main living areas, then the bedrooms and extra rooms) 2-everything picked up. (don't stuff the mess in closets-they will look there-but you can stuff in places that don't 'go' with the house when it sales-like free standing cabinets, end tables, chests, etc) 3-floors. Make sure the floors are swept/vacuumed/moped each afternoon. A dirty floor will make the entire room look dirty. 4-spray air freshener, light candles, plug ins, boil spices on the stove, whatever-smell is a biggie. It covers a multitude of sins. (plus our sense of smell has the longest memory of any of our senses) You're house doesn't have to be spotless-it just has to have the appearance of clean.
We just sold ours in November. We moved out first. One of the realtors who we were considering as our realtor told us our house would sell better empty. (And it was cleaned and newly painted when she saw it!) I think as homeschoolers we just had too many things jammed in weird places. It wasn't a terribly big house either, but it looked bigger empty. It sold in less than 2 months, and there was an almost identical house in our neighborhood on the market at the same time.
